I'd plan on going friday now, so I can sleep in the next morning. I'd like to do mid-april aswell

13.99 @ 101 and I will be impressed :D

Looks like the same rules for my dragstrip, with a hardtop, the convertible rule doesn't apply. At least that how I can run 12's.

my hardtop has a cracked rear window, I don't think I'll pass any tech like that. It looks like I'll have to go soft top

So change of plans, kinda.
I picked up a used vvt motor for an absolute steal, due in no small part to ridethecliche!
The motor will need a new oil pump. I was thinking of going with another priority mazda pump, maybe even opening up the bottom end and throwing in a set of ebay rods, I have a few questions
If the rings are good and I want to do rods, should I even bother replacing the rings?
Should I use my 95 block with the lower compression ratio or the 03 block with high compression? I'm just curious if the NB crank sensor will mount to the 95 block, I like my high pressure feed port.
should I do ms3 basic to control vvt? Or could I get away with ms1 and vvt tuner?
Curious to hear opinions on this new step in the build. The vvt motor will be built and the 95 motor will be left in until I want to swap. 210 hp is wicked fun right now but I got a stinkin' deal for this motor that I couldn't turn down

You will need new rings and bearings if you open up the motor. There is no getting around that. Use the 95 block, and 95 pistons for the lower compression. You will need a VVT oil pump, you can either use the one off the VVT motor, or buy a BE one. The NB crank sensor will bolt onto any VVT oil pump. Any MS3 will control VVT, as long as the proper circuits are built.

I might just replace the oil pump, do water pump and TB, convert to ms3 and enjoy life. That way I can just swap engines instead of pulling both of them apart and staring at them sitting in my garage for 2 weeks

You will also need to hone the cylinders.

Aidan is correct about needing the hone. I have rods only build in my garage right now that I need to finish. I think I am at about $500 in costs not including the rods. Machine shop cost about $150 to have them clean, check the block and crank and all, and hone the block. Then a few hundred in rings, bearings, gaskets, and miscellaneous pieces that were needed.

I know I used a 3 piece stone hone on my current engine, I did new rings and bearings on it. The only reason I asked is because if the rings have seated and I'm not changing them why replace them? But I guess it's just common practice to replace them.

​​​​​​​You have to pull the pistons completely out to install the forged rods. Once the pistons are out the rings on them are bad and will no reseat correctly.

Alright, I didn't realize that if the seal is broken they will never reseat. I thought it was more like lifters where it's fine as long as it's put back where it came from. I'm also probably not going to touch this bottom end considering this turbo maxes out around 230-250 whp.
Also is the bp4w pump from priority mazda a pump that will flow high enough for a vvt engine?

Priority Mazda sells 2 different oil pumps. One for 90-00 for non-vvt motors, and it is like $110 or something. Then they sell the VVT pump which is $279. At the $279 price point you might as well just buy a BE pump for slightly more. Or just run the pump from the VVT motor you bought.

Seller said that the pump had low oil pressure at idle, it was run on a track car so it was monitored with a real gauge. It seems that low pressure at idle is indicitive of a failing pump, he did say however no weird noises and no metal shavings in the oil

before buying anything, go ahead and pull the pump. inspect it and see how it goes. if the internals of the pump are fine, then maybe you just get the BE gears for it and shim the relief valve. Do you know how low the pressure was at idle?

I thought be gears were only in a group buy a while back?
Oil pressure was low, but high enough for him to run the car. Maybe a cracked relief valve or something?

I was curious as i have not seen anything that shows a spec for idle oil pressure. Only oil pressure between 3-3500rpm when up to operating temp which is 40ish-50ish IIRC.

I actually just did a VVT swap in mine. I did everything wrong by the comments you recieved earlier. 40k mile motor with clean cylinders. I put rods in it without changing bearing or rings. Why? because i am cheap and wanted to try it. If it doesnt work out, i will pull it back out and drop in aftermarket pistons and rings. I did remove all the buildup at the top of the cylinder so that there was no chance of the rings being damaged when removing the pistons. For the bearings, they were all in great shape. I didnt see any need to change them. The manley rods are the same size as the stock ones. The bearings are more sensitive to the crank than the rod from the research i have done. I also put in the BE gearset in the stock VVT pump without shimming the pump. I do wish i would have shimmed it a bit. For my oil pressure, i have about 15-20psi at full operating temp idle. i have 50 at 3k rpm. Thats with the VVT activating. My VVT responds well to demanded position as it is, so i am not too terribly worried about the pressure. We shall see though, It may all blow up in my face but only time will tell. I have been driving it about a week now since the swap.

Also, BE sells the gearsets again. It is the "Stage 0" that they sell. They cost about 250 for the VVT.

I have seen several spec miata friends reuse rings and bearings. Some without issues, some with issues. I won't ever do it because I am lazy and don't want to pull the motor again to redo it. Rings and bearings are less then $200 on eBay for them, so sort of silly to me to not do them when everything is apart.

I assume the next question should be BE gearset and stock damper or OEM spec pump and ati super damper? I don't this to turn into another "while I'm in there" project but...

BE gears or BE pump. I kinda wish i would have just bought the entire pump but i was on a very tight budget. You can easily to the damper later on however the pump gears arent as easy to do later.

Full BE pump. If pressure was low then it may not be just the gears worn but the housing. Gears are steel and housing is aluminum. Relief valves are a known issue on our pumps so I'd be really interested in not reusing the housing.